Murder accused says cops electrocuted his genitals, cops deny charge

A man, accused of murdering a child and staying in Sri Ganganagar Central Jail pending trial, has accused police of electrocuting his genitals. He was sent to hospital by jail authorities on February 5, two days after he was taken to jail after a court remanded him to judicial custody.

However, the police have denied the charges and said the wound on the man’s genitals were one year old. Doctors treating him said the injury looked fresh, but appeared not to have been caused by electrocution.

Pankaj Jain, 35, was arrested on January 30 from Sri Ganganagar on the charges of murdering the five-year-old boy. The police said that the child went missing on January 15 and later his body was recovered from a canal on January 23.

The police said Jain threw the boy in the canal and later called them from a stolen SIM card to tell them that a woman, who was his estranged lover, was responsible for the killing.

Jawahar Nagar police station station house officer Shakil Ahmad said Jain had called up the police in some other cases also naming the woman. “Jain has earlier been in jail for rape, and also been involved in forgery and mobile phone thefts,” the police officer said.

Central jail official Ramesh Purohit said Jain told them about the police torture a day after he was brought to the prison. “The jail doctor saw cut marks on his genitals and referred him to the district hospital,” Purohit added.

Dr Raghav Tantiya, surgeon at district hospital, said there were bleeding ulcers on Jain’s genitals. “But we did not spot entry and exit wounds generally associated with electrocution,” he added, refuting Jain’s claims.

Meanwhile, SHO Ahmad said Jain had an affair with a woman with whom he was living in. “About a year ago, when he went to drop her home, her brothers threw acid on his genitals,” he added.